With the mighty Denver Nuggets winning their first championship, the 2023 NBA season
comes to a close. We are officially in the NBA offseason, and the draft is just around the corner. As the days go by, more and more draft news gets released about which teams are interested in whom. It is no secret that Brooklyn Nets General Manager Sean Marks is interested in 6'6 French wing Rayan Rupert.
It is confirmed that Marks has gone to Australia to scout Rupert,
who currently plays for the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL, the Australian equivalent of the NBA.
While some fans would be happy to draft someone like Rupert, I am of the belief that it
would be a waste of a first-round pick to draft the young forward.
In his season with the Breakers, he averaged 6.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.1
turnovers, and 2 fouls in 18.1 minutes per game in 31 games.
Despite having a reputation as a point guard, Rupert has been a negative as a ball handler during his time with the Breakers, averaging more turnovers than assists.
Offensively, Rupert is extremely inefficient, averaging 6.8 points while shooting 36.9%
from the field, 31.2% from three-point range, and 73.8% from the free-throw line.
Image Via (Tankathon)
As shown by his overall field goal percentage, Rupert struggles to finish at the rim. He shoots 31.2% from three-point range on 2.6 attempts per game, which is underwhelming to say the least. Additionally, he’s an average free-throw shooter on low volume, only attempting 2.1 free throws per game.
The only attractive aspect of Rupert is his age and his body. Rupert is only 19 years old,
turning 19 only 3 weeks before the draft, meaning he has plenty of time to improve his game. He has a fantastic frame, weighing 193 pounds and being listed at 6'6 with a 7'3 wingspan.
Rupert has a similar body type as Mikal Bridges, and interestingly enough, Rupert has even compared himself to Mikal Bridges. Defensively, Rupert has shown incredible flashes of being an elite defender. He is fast, having the lateral quickness to be able to stay with his man and rarely ever being beaten off the dribble.
With his incredible 7'3 wingspan, he is able to contest most shots.
Rupert has always been a high-effort defender, willing to pick up full court and guard the ball or run after his man off the ball and get into the passing lane.
However, despite having high defensive potential, he still has issues on that end.
Because of his 193-pound body, he doesn’t have the physical strength to guard bulkier players one-on-one in a post-up situation. And while he has a high motor on the defensive end, he averaged 2 fouls per game while only playing 18.1 minutes per game. Per 36 minutes, he averaged 3.9 fouls per game.
Rupert reminds me a lot of Matisse Thybulle, a player who showed incredible defensive
capabilities but struggled on the offensive end. The hope with Thybulle was that he would develop some level of offensive shot creation, however, he did not. Despite making multiple All- Defensive teams, Thybulle became unplayable because of his lack of offense. Rupert is a similar risk, and if the Nets were to draft him, he would need serious player development.
Comments